2011
summer
C
ommenCement
2
University of Florida President
Dr. J. Bernard Machen
Bernie Machen was appointed Florida’s 11
th
president
in January, 2004. During his tenure, he has expanded
the university’s research and scholarship endeavors,
elevated its educational programs and increased
access to students from a diversity of economic
backgrounds – all while shepherding the university
through an era of growing financial challenges.
Under President Machen’s leadership, UF’s annual
research funding has soared to $678 million. He has
presided over a major expansion of research facilities,
grown UF’s noted technology commercialization
enterprise, and led the Florida Tomorrow capital
campaign, a five-year effort that is nearing its goal
of $1.5 billion by 2012.
A longtime advocate for giving students from all
walks of life the chance to attend college, Dr. Machen
in 2005 pioneered the Florida Opportunity Scholars
program, which pays tuition and room and board for
students from disadvantaged backgrounds. Nearly
2,000 students have attended UF as recipients of
the scholarship.
Like other universities nationwide, UF has faced
several years of declining state support. Dr. Machen
has led Florida’s 11 public universities’ response to
these declines, successfully advocating lawmakers to
step up statewide tuition increases while allowing
universities greater flexibility in setting their
own tuition. President Machen also launched a
university-wide sustainability campaign considered
a model in public higher education.
Prior to his appointment at UF, Dr. Machen served
for six years as president of the University of Utah.
His previous positions include provost and executive
vice president for academic affairs at the University
of Michigan; dean of dentistry at the University of
Michigan and associate dean at the University of
North Carolina School of Dentistry.
A member of the Florida Council of 100, he has
held several prominent positions in statewide and
national higher education leadership – including as
a member of the National Security Higher Education
Advisory Board and the Board of Directors for the
2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. He earned
his doctor of dental surgery from St. Louis University
and doctorate in educational psychology from the
University of Iowa, both of which have honored him
with distinguished alumnus awards.
He and his wife, Chris, a former nurse who
has been heavily involved in the university’s
environmental initiatives, have three children and
four grandchildren.
3
2011
summer
C
o m m e n C e m e n t
Greetings
from the President
n behalf of the University of Florida administration, faculty and staff, I want to extend my
most heartfelt congratulations to you, the Class of 2011, and to your family and friends.
Today’s ceremony celebrates your hard work and achievement in completing a demanding and
rigorous course of study at a great public research university. You should be proud, as should all
who supported and assisted you in your efforts.
This is a day of celebration, but it is also a day of reflection on what lies ahead. Whatever path you choose,
I am confident you have acquired the skills you need to be a success. Whether you pursue a career in public
service, private industry, academe, the sciences or the arts, I know you will make a difference.
It has been a privilege and a pleasure to host you during your academic career. You have learned much, and
this university has benefited in turn from your presence. I hope you will recall your years here with a sense
that they were both happy and productive. As a member of UF’s distinguished alumni, you will always be
cherished at the University of Florida.
Good luck and best wishes!
J. Bernard Machen
O
O
4
2011
summer
C
o m m e n C e m e n t
The University of Florida
T
he University of Florida traces its origins to
1853 when the state-funded East Florida Seminary
acquired the private Kingsbury Academy in Ocala. After the
Civil War, the seminary was moved to Gainesville. It was
consolidated with the state’s land-grant Florida Agricultural
College, then in Lake City, to become the University of
Florida in 1906. Until 1947, UF was designated for men and
was one of only three state universities. Today, with more
than 50,000 students, the University of Florida is among the
most populous universities in the nation.
UF, one of the largest of Florida’s 11 state universities, is
governed by the State Board of Education, the Florida Board of
Governors and the University of Florida Board of Trustees.
The University of Florida joined the ranks of North
America’s best graduate research institutions with its
admission in 1985 to the Association of American
Universities, the most prestigious organization in higher
education. The university also has been recognized by the
Carnegie Commission on Higher Education as one of the
nation’s leading research universities.
The University of Florida encompasses 16 colleges,
five schools and more than 100 interdisciplinary research
and education centers, bureaus and institutes. Students
can choose majors from 100 undergraduate degree
programs, approximately 200 graduate programs and 30
combined degree programs. Professional postbaccalaureate
degrees are offered in dentistry, law, medicine, nursing,
pharmacy, physical therapy and veterinary medicine. More
than 32,000 people participate annually in noncredit
courses, conferences, workshops, institutes and seminars.
The university employs more than 5,000 faculty
members and approximately 7,500 administrative,
professional and support staff. With operations in more
than 900 buildings on 2,000 acres, the university has
research centers, extension operations, clinics and/or other
facilities and affiliates in every county in Florida.
S
tate
B
oard
of
e
ducation
Mark Kaplan
Tallahassee
John R. Padget
Key West
Roberto Martinez
Vice Chair
Coral Gables
Gary Chartrand
Ponte Vedra Beach
f
lorida
B
oard
of
G
overnorS
Dean Colson
Coral Gables
Frank T. Brogan
Chancellor
Tallahassee
Ann W. Duncan
Tampa
J. Stanley Marshall
Tallahassee
Richard A. Yost
Gainesville
Frank T. Martin
Tallahassee
John W. Temple
Boca Raton
Michael Long
Student Representative
Sarasota
Ava L. Parker
Chair
Jacksonville
Patricia Frost
Miami Beach
John L. Winn
Interim Commissioner of Education
Tallahassee
Hector A. "Tico" Perez
Orlando
Kathleen Shanahan
Chair
Tampa
Gus A. Stavros
St. Petersburg
Charles B. Edwards
Fort Myers
Richard A. Beard III
Tampa
Norman D. Tripp
Fort Lauderdale
Akshay Desai
St. Petersburg
Morteza "Mori" Hosseini
Daytona Beach
John Rood
Jacksonville
John L. Winn
Interim Commissioner of Education
Tallahassee